Trapped at 65ft in icy weather, children on crippled funfair swing
TERRIFIED youngsters were left dangling 65ft in the air in temperatures of -2C when a funfair ride suddenly broke down.
Eight revellers were forced to sit shivering in their seats for 40 minutes when the Sky Swing attraction stopped mid-ride.
As the mercury plunged, firefighters were called and engineers frantically attempted to restart the ride – which has been dubbed the ‘world’s tallest mobile swing’.
Youngsters were eventually lowered from their seats without any
‘Cold and frightened’
injuries but the troubled ride will now be removed from the Winter Wonderland attraction in Cardiff after the second incident this month.
Just weeks ago, seats carrying passengers were hit by two empty seats when gusts of wind shook the structure, which swings revellers at a height of 200ft.
The latest drama to hit Sky Swing on Saturday left youngsters trapped and terrified, according to onlookers. Luke J ones watched as 12-year-old daughter Ellie-May was left ‘cold and frightened’ on t he stricken ride.
‘It looked like they tried to re-start it about 20 times, they seemed to be going through manuals,’ said Mr Jones, from Newport. ‘Ellie-May was so high up she looked like a dot. She was so cold and frightened. It was every parent’s worst nightmare.’ Park engineers eventually managed to re-start the ride and lowered the swing seats to the ground without the need for the youngsters to be rescued.
Those on board were given medical checks and hot drinks as well as refunds.
The Sky Swing was immediately shut and has since been dismantled and removed.
A spokesman for Winter Wonderland said operator Sayers Amusements is working with the Denmark-based manufacturer to find out what went wrong.
‘We understand it was an electrical fault with the ride but we haven’t found the root cause yet.’ The attraction has now been replaced by a smaller ride called the Mega Swing, which organisers say is ‘a bit less extreme’.